April 5—Warm weather for a day, then the chill came back to Ithaca. Leaving this city of cooperatives, next to the enthusiastic welcome I received at the gatherings here, I was impressed by the deep co-op feel of the city. From GreenStar Cooperative Market to Buffalo Street Books, & much, much more, the people here are invested in a way that uplifts & inspires to produce the feel of a healthy village. Even the behemoth on the hill, Cornell University, is co-op connected with some student housing. It feels a lot like Fort Wayne’s 3 Rivers Co-op.

Ithaca has a strong activist progressive history, which has helped spur the energy and open-mindedness necessary to form and maintain co-ops, a GreenStar board member since 1980 told a reporter in 2013.

I experienced that openmindedness thruout my residency in Ithaca. From March 21 thru 29th, each gathering was tailored—4-to-13 year olds, seniors, student activists, a Men’s group at thhe Alliance for Families for Justice. The tour’s receptions were anchored by Elder Janice Turner, & Sox Sperry, my Brother & comrade of 40-plus years. Janice Turner & her husband, James, have been cornerstones in Ithaca since they arrived in 1969. Known widely as Dean Turner, she retired from Cornell as associate dean of the College of Arts and Science.

After Black students occupied Willard-Straight Hall in 1968, Dr. James Turner was hired the following year as the founding director of the Afrikana Studies and Research Center. Dr. Gloria Joseph (both now Ancestors facilitated James Turner’s selection and negotiated the student’s demands. James Turner built Afrikana from the ground up as an economic & curriculum-independent institution for studying and understanding the experiences of African and African-descended people across the Diaspora.

The Turners invested similar energy in Ithaca’s Black community thruout the years. Their investment and presence is a defining factor in Ithaca. Sox and Lisa Tsetse, his life partner, have a deeply spirited poeting relationship with the Turners. This is the embrace that gathered me to Ithaca. This residency has schooled me in organic ways of shaping the second leg of this tour which ends in November. The first phase began with two gatherings in Fort Wayne with critical support from family and friends.

Sox is accompanying me in Massachusetts. As we often discuss, life is about relationships. They must be nurtured and maintained. This tour is building relationships thru conversations that spring from intentional encounters. We’re playing the long game. Change will rise from these strategic gatherings that are grounded in your contributions, donations, sharings, and book purchases.

Thank you for your support of OGT25, the OctoGenarian Tour.